We ROK The body that ROKs the party
Hello from the ROK, everyone. I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog, but trust me, there’s really been nothing of interest going on in my life(with the exception of what I plan on posting here). I made it through AIT, and as such am now a full fledged medic in the United States Army. I know, congratulations on such an accomplishment, thank you for your service, all that jazz. It’s not that I place a diminished value on being a medic, nor on being a member of the US Army, but I figure about six thousand people a year do it, so it can’t be anything super amazing. And as far as the “thank you for your service” thing, I’m never really sure what to say to that. I haven’t really served yet; I only am just now in processing in Korea. I’ve found the best response so far has been “Thank you for your tax dollars.” It’s really the only one that makes sense.
The flight to Korea took 13 hours, of which I believe I was conscious for about 4. Other than that, I had a couple of glasses of wine to help me sleep, and tried as best as I could to ignore the two people next to me. They were old and gregarious. Korean air was a pretty nice experience, though. Complimentary everything, right down to the in flight movie selection. I watched Gran Torino, which was a decent movie.
When I got to the airport, it didn’t take the locals long to try and hustle me. No more had I stepped off the plane and taken my baggage from the baggage claim area when some Korean cab driver came up and took my bags for me and began walking for his cab. Now, when I say “took my bags for me,” I mean just that. This little bastard actually had the audacity to take my baggage cart from me and tell me that I didn’t actually need to check in with the USO desk at the airport, which would arrange for free transportation to the base I’m currently at. I swear to the Flying Spaghetti Monster I almost hit this guy right then and there. Fortunately, all it took was a few stern words and a strong grip on the baggage cart. Some people just never fucking quit.
The first night I was here, the Army paid to put me up in the Dragon Hill lodge, an on-post hotel. It was nice enough. I was in for a bit of a surprise though when I tried to get into my room and my key was deactivated. This is how I came to find out that I had a room mate. Fortunately for myself, he was a laid back guy.
Since then, it’s been pretty much non-stop briefings and paperwork, as it will continue to be tomorrow and the day after. All in preparation for me to get to my permanent unit here in the ROK, the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. They’re stationed in the southern part of the ROK. It shouldn’t be so bad. The biggest thing that’s going to get to me is being away from everyone back home. Oh well, a year shouldn’t be too long.
While I was on leave, I had a lot of good times, and some great new developments in my life, of which I unfortunately can’t go into full detail. Suffice it to say that everyone who told me that I should have just given up and moved on was dead wrong. In any case, I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with friends, family, and loved ones. I have a skype account for video chats. My account name is troy.m.harris. I will try to be more diligent in updating this, as well as being available for video chat. All the best.
